US Reiterates Concern Over N. Korean, Iranian Arms For Russia

Foreign affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Thursday Zelenskyy had made “baseless accusations” over Iran’s supply of military to drones to Russia. Kanaani reiterated Tehran’s contention it had not “issued any military equipment to any side for use in the war in Ukraine.”

Iran said in November that any its Shahed-136 drones – which employ many easily-bought US components – used by Russia had been sent before the current wave of hostilities began in February - which does not preclude their use in the war.

Kanaani charged that Zelenskyy had exploited the issue “with the hope of strengthening Ukraine’s defensive power and American support for the war.” In his emotional address, after which he handed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a Ukrainian flag signed by troops defending the city of Bakhmut, Zelenskyy asked for more arms and more sanctions against Russia.

At the White House, President Joe Biden promised to “keep the flame of liberty burning bright” and pledged an extra $1.85 billion in weapons, on top of the current $20 billion, while Congress prepared to vote another $45 billion in overall aid.

In his Congressional address, Zelenskyy presented Iran as “an ally [of Russia]…in this genocidal policy” and a “terrorist.” Responding, Kanaani said Tehran had “always respected the territorial integrity of countries, including Ukraine.” Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the Third Tehran Dialogue Forum that Iran wanted the conflict resolved through dialogue “taking into account the legitimate security concerns of the parties.”

Back in July, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran, Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei blamed the West, suggesting war had resulted, at least in part, from Nato failing to “recognize any limits or borders.” Citing the 2014 Ukraine “coup” – protests that removed Moscow-inclined President Viktor Yanukovich and prompted Russia’s seizure of Crimea – and Nato’s expansion to 14 eastern European countries since 1999, Khamenei said the “dangerous creature” of Nato, if not faced down, “would have started this war anyway.”

But what clearly showed that Khamenei supports Russia’s attack on Ukraine was his praise for Putin to have taken the “initiative” against Ukraine.

Although most of the drones have been easily shot down and US spokesman Ned Price has conceded their role as small, some analysts suggest the real US fear is Tehran replenishing Moscow’s missile stocks, which the US hopes to run down as the war continues.

US: Russia ‘illegally’ using Iranian, North Korean weapons

The US Thursday kept up denunciation of Russia-Iran links. In a statement Washington’s ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia was “illegally” using weapons from both Iran and North Korea in its “Brutal War [sic] Against Ukraine.” Thomas-Greenfield called this a “violation of UN Security Council resolutions.”

She was apparently referring to North Korea’s launching ballistic missiles this year, which she said implicated Russia as a “partner to such behavior.” The illegality of acquiring Iranian military drones, she suggested, arose from “violations of UN Security Council Resolution 2231,” which in 2015 endorsed the Iran nuclear agreement, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). The US left the JCPOA in 2018 but along with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom now evokes the resolution in claiming the drones supply violates one of 2231’s clauses – a claim Tehran and Russia reject.

Israeli officials, meanwhile, cited in Haaretz newspaper Thursday, said Iran could use technology from its space program to launch nuclear weapons. These officials, the paper continued, “say that two of the rockets Iran has developed for launching satellites into orbit – the Zoljanah and the QAEM-100 – have similar capabilities [to those of ballistic missiles], including engines and fuel tanks that can accommodate solid fuel.”

Reporting that “building an intercontinental ballistic missile with such a range [over 4,000 km] is one of Iran’s strategic goals,” Haaretz informed readers this would “add Europe to the list of countries threatened by Iran’s weapons, whether conventional or nuclear.”

The rial has now lost nearly 50 percent of its value compared to mid-2021 and over 30 percent since December 2021.

The de facto devaluation is expected to boost Iran’s annual inflation rate, currently estimated to be 50 percent. Food prices have jumped much faster than overall inflation, with some items registering 100-percent increase in one year.

The high inflation rate this year comes on top of rising prices since 2018, when the United States pulled out of the nuclear accord known as the JCPOA and imposed oil export and banking sanction on Iran.

Iran has been rocked by nationwide antigovernment protests since mid-September after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, was killed in police custody. She was arrested for violating the country’s forced hijab rules. But since then, protests have turned against the ruling regime, with many Iranians demanding a secular and democratic form of government.

Opponents of the Islamic Republic have also urged people to withdraw their deposits from government banks to put further pressure on the government, which has been printing more money in recent years. The money supply has grown at an unprecedented pace since September.

Talks to revive the JCPOA and lift most of the US sanctions have stalled since August when the last attempt by the European Union to broker a deal fell apart.

Britain’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told parliament Tuesday that in return for Iranian drones it uses in attacks on Ukraine, Russia will supply the military components to the Islamic Republic.

Wallace told the parliamentarians that Iran should be held accountable for supporting Russia in war on Ukraine.

“We must hold their enablers to account,” he noted. “Iran has become one of Russia’s top military backers. In return for having supplied more than 300 kamikaze drones, Russia intends to provide it with advanced military components, undermining both Middle East and international security. We must expose this deal.”

However, Wallace did not reveal more details about the technology that Tehran is going to receive.

Reuters says the Russian Defense Ministry and Iran’s foreign ministry have refused to give a comment regarding Wallace’s statements.

Earlier, Washington said Moscow was moving to provide Tehran with advanced military assistance including air defense systems, choppers, and fighter jets.

Russia was offering the Islamic Republic “an unprecedented level of military and technical support that is transforming their relationship into a full-fledged defense partnership,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on December 9.

The Biden administration recently unveiled sanctions against Iranian firms and entities involved in the transfer of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Hadi Beiginejad, member of Iranian parliament's energy commission, told ISNA website in Tehran Thursday that the country is not in a good situation in terms of water resources, adding that even the claim that 37% of dams are full may not be true.

“Based on the research I did, some reservoirs for some dams are much less than 37%,” he underlined.

On the other hand, according to latest official statistics of Iran Water Resources Management Company, two important water supply dams, namely Lar in Tehran and Ekbatan in the western city of Hamedan, have only two percent reserves.

The company also reported that among the important dams that supply drinking water, 11 have a reserve rate below 20% of their capacity.

According to the same statistics, the total water reserves of the country's dams are about 18 billion cubic meters, and on average, about 63% of the country's dam reservoirs are empty.

In the capital, however, the situation is worse and Tehran's dams with 279 million cubic meters of reserves are experiencing an unprecedented shortage in the past fifty years.

Earlier, Alireza Almasondi, Vice President of Water Resources Management Company, said 84 cities in Iran are struggling with water crisis.

Many years of drought and decades of mismanagement have led to chronic water shortages in most parts of Iran.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Corbyn said he has written a letter to Iran’s Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei urging him to reverse the convictions.

“I have been informed that at least 26 people are at risk of being executed…Many of the individuals involved have been denied fair trials, including the right: to access a legal counsel of their choosing; to be presumed innocent until proven guilty; to remain silent; and to receive a fair, public hearing,” reads the letter Corbyn published on twitter.

He also noted that there are reports that several defendants were tortured to induce “confessions”, which were later used as evidence in court.

Corbyn urged the regime to immediately reverse all convictions and death sentences of protesters and release those who have been detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

Holding fair trials, having access to legal counsel, and throwing out evidence acquired through use of forced confession were among the other things Corbyn urged the Islamic regime to do.

Iran has been the scene of nationwide anti-regime protests since mi-September. Over 500 people have been killed by security forces and more than 18,000 are imprisoned.